#trending

A few weeks ago I went to a vintage sale/brunch that a friend of a friend was having at her home. She had great jewelry, dresses, and coats, but this one 1960’s mini-dress caught the attention of one of my friends. It was super cute and reminiscent of the Nancy Sinatra look, begging for a thigh-high boot and leaving little to the imagination when it comes to your gams. My friend has been a dancer her whole life and in spite of slowing down in recent years she’s still slender and has legs that most women would be more than happy with. She tried on the dress and it fit, so I was surprised when another woman in the room told her that it “fits great and would be perfect if only it was age-appropriate.” My friend’s face sank and I was kind of blown away.

The funny thing is, this woman wasn’t being at all shady, as she was in her late 30’s and considerably older than my friend who had just turned 30. If anything she was complimenting my friend on being in good enough shape to shimmy into such a tiny dress and just tellin’ it like it is (or as she sees it) style-wise. But until then I’d never thought about the need to start dressing less revealingly at a certain age. I’ve never been a fan of short skirts but I do like low-cut tops…do you mean to tell me that I’m going to have to start covering these puppies up and maybe should already be doing so?

I think that images that we see in the media have skewed my thinking on this because most of the women we see dressed demurely are elderly or members of government. For example, Toni Braxton (pictured) is 45 years old, looks amazing, and is showing more leg than your average woman would ever dare — as she should, she’s an entertainer. But let’s say Toni had the same figure and was an administrative assistant. How revealing would too revealing be for your average woman and at what age does the need to cover up a little bit kick in?

Is there a need to start covering up as women get older? If so, when does it start?

Toni has a good body, but still looks sad. Demi Moore too. It’s not what these old ladies are wearing, it’s what it screams: I CAN’T AFFORD TO LET GO, MY BODY IS ALL I HAVE!
The sad reality of only developing one aspect of oneself.